COLUMNIST
Can Latam fulfil its potential?
Latin America has long been talked about as a sleeping giant but, as Matt Jellicoe explains, things are rarely as simple as they seem
BY MATT JE L L I COE , OFFSIDEGAMING
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everal operators, both domestic and foreign, are focusing on the Latin American market as the new emerging continent in online gaming. Many see it as a replica of Europe ?ve or six years ago, with little regulation and the opportunity for land grab. The demographics also look interesting – Brazil alone has a population of 200m. Internet access is growing across the continent, while several Latam economies are nearing double-digit GDP growth. Add to this the fact that approximately half of the continent is Spanish speaking and the other half Brazilian Portuguese, it seems a straightforward proposition to target these markets.
download in Europe often taking 10 to 15 seconds in São Paulo. The real issue, however, is payments. Much of European gaming has been driven by the ubiquitous presence of debit and credit cards and followed up by the success of e-wallets, such as Skrill. Currency control in markets such as Argentina and Brazil heavily restrict the movement of money. Brazil is also dominated by local cards that are difficult to process. Many rumours abound in the industry of major players who have money locked up in Latin America.
However, as with everything in life, when
it seems this simple it rarely is. In terms of economics, only Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela have GDP per capita approaching anything like a European country. Indeed, they are still far from Western European or US levels and closer to Romania and Bulgaria. The wealth distribution is also skewed towards upper and middle classes – so the mass market in these countries is not there. Broadband penetration is much lower than in Europe and the US, and many of the web products built for the European market are much less suitable for the Latam market, with load speeds across the continent ?ve to seven times slower than in Europe. Latency is also problematic, with sites that take 1.5 seconds to
Latin American politics is hectic and does not lend itself to swift implementation of gaming laws
So where will Latin American gaming go?
However, Latin America is not one homogenous lump, but a myriad of very different countries. Also this is de?nitely not the EU – Latin American politics is hectic, bureaucratic and lacks the cooperation between countries seen in the EU. This environment does n